8 Travel Items Our Editors Never Leave Home Without

Growing up, I always envisioned myself becoming a world traveler, and I thought the idea of spending at least a few weeks a year flying to new destinations was the most glamorous way to live. Now that I have a whole lot of 15-plus-hour flights under my belt, I can assure you that traveling to your destination is anything but glamorous. The crowded planes, bad food, dry cabin air and endless noise are enough to drive even the calmest person bonkers.

As editors, my colleagues and I travel a lot. Whether it's for a press trip or interview, or just to visit one of our other offices, we spend a good portion of each year trying to work from the comfort of a teeny-tiny airplane seat. Luckily, we've pretty much nailed down how to make travel as painless as possible. As we all gear up for our holiday travel, we decided to round up our favorite travel accessories in hopes that they make your travel a little less stressful too.

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Dermovia face mask

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"People look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I wear face masks on a plane, but once you try it, you'll never get on a plane without one. It's the perfect way to combat the extreme dryness of cabin air, and these masks from Dermovia are my favorite because they're also made out of lace, so you look fancy AF. Bonus? They also let everyone sitting next to you know that you are not here for small talk." — Kenzie Mastroe, lifestyle editor

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Silk eye mask

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"I've been dependent on eye masks to fall asleep since junior year of high school (boarding) when my procrastinator of a roommate insisted on staying up until the wee hours every night finishing her homework. Silk masks not only shut out the light on planes and in hotel rooms, they're also soft and gentle on your skin, so they don't cause fine lines or breakouts (just make sure to hand-wash yours regularly so bacteria doesn't build up)." — Hannah Hickok, deputy editor

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Black jumpsuit

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"I'm an obsessively minimalist traveler and usually bring only one backpack total for myself, my partner and our toddler combined — for a weeklong trip. This means double- (and triple- and quadruple-)duty clothing items are key, and in my experience, nothing beats a black cotton jumpsuit for faking an 'appropriate' outfit for the city, the beach, a hike, a dinner party and — in a pinch — even sleeping in all night. Living in some sort of take on fancy pajamas 24-7 is basically my M.O. in life and travel alike." — Amelia Edelman, senior parenting editor

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Homemade food

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"Look, plane food is gross, we can all acknowledge that, and nothing's worse than feeling sweaty and sticky and then having to eat mushy slop on top of it. For any flights, but especially long-distance ones (I've spent more than 24 hours traveling for one trip), homemade food makes a world of difference. It doesn't have to be fancy, but it does have to be tasty. I usually make a margherita pizza with fresh tomatoes and basil." — Colleen Stinchcombe, branded content editor

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Hand cream

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"Airplanes have an awesome habit of sapping every last bit of moisture from my body, so I always make sure to come packing emollient remedies galore. You'll always find a travel-size tube of L'Occitane's incredibly silky hand creams in my purse, suitcase and carry-on — the rose scent is lovely and by far my favorite." — Cristina Velocci, director of editorial operations

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Oversize scarf

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"Regardless of whether I'm traveling by plane, bus, train or have conned my way into someone's car (they're hard to find in NYC!), I'm going to try to get as comfortable as possible. One easy way to accomplish this is to bring an oversize scarf. It can be balled up to form a pillow, spread out like a blanket or actually worn as a scarf. Because it's an item of clothing, it's more socially acceptable to bring it with you on a plane without looking like Linus from Peanuts." — Elizabeth Yuko, health editor

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Gold face mask

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"Traveling is a lot of hectic, on-the-go activity, and the worst thing is when you land and need to call your friend or an Uber to your hotel and you don't have battery. Before jumping on a flight, I always bring a portable charger (fully charged) with me, even if there are outlets on the flight. With unreliable Wi-Fi and the itch to check your phone to cure boredom (even if it's in airplane mode), your battery can drain pretty fast. So a portable phone charger is a must. No one wants to be stuck in a foreign destination with no way of contacting anyone." — Jason Pham, entertainment editor

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Phone charger

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"Traveling is a lot of hectic on-the-go activity, and the worst thing is when you land and need to call your friend or an Uber to your hotel and you don't have battery. Before jumping on a flight, I always bring a portable charger (fully charged) with me, even if there are outlets on the flight. With unreliable Wi-Fi and the itch to check your phone to cure boredom (even if it's on airplane mode), your battery can drain pretty fast. So a portable phone charger is a must. No one wants to be stuck in a foreign destination with no way of contacting anyone." — Jason Pham, entertainment editor